


Good Things For Those Who Take

by Cretaceous_Cal



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Anxiety, Depression, F/M, Familial Relationships, Gen, Growing Relationships, Healing, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Platonic Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-15 13:15:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7223740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cretaceous_Cal/pseuds/Cretaceous_Cal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cin (Hyacinth), a sheltered girl in her early twenties, stumbles upon Jackson County under unfortunate circumstances. Ellie convinces Joel to keep the girl around, and eventually the three of them try their hardest to grow and keep a healthy platonic/familial relationship. Eventual Joel/Cin (pronounced Sin) romantic relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First thing is first, sorry my name for my character is weird but "artistic freedom" and all that. 
> 
> Secondly, YES I play The Last Of Us. I don't own a console, but I've been frequenting a friend's house to play it and I'm about halfway through. I am also watching game plays and reading Wiki articles to try to make my story not exactly suck. This isn't intended to be a heavy action-motivated story. This is more about Joel, Ellie, and Cin trying to overcome problems with mental illness, etc. 
> 
> Thirdly, please let me know how good or bad this is! I appreciate all of you.  
> This is just a first draft.

For just a little longer than twenty one years, she had been sheltered inside a well-guarded city in central Minnesota. Fireflies from the North had tried taking over, but they were less organized than they had ever anticipated; they absolutely could not keep such a big place running with such a small number of people. Unfortunately,  that’s when the city finally fell- walls and fences had come crumbling down, people frantically trying to escape; infected leaking through every crack and crevice.

 

It’d been months since her blubbering team of asountdinly idiotic twats had hit the road. Most of the group consisted of older men, 'experienced' survivors that, honestly, took very good care of her and the few other women- at least when it came to their safety from the monsters and other men, but not from the men within their group. She was the second youngest of the group, the first being a 17 year old girl; flirtatious, full bodied, willing to do _anything_ for extra rations. Though, the almost twenty two year old was average. She didn’t mind if she got less than the other; they were the muscle and glue. They needed their strength, she did not. She wasn’t seen as much of a valuable asset other than a potential mate to repopulate their new city, once they built one. She smirked at the thought and shook her head.

  _Pathetic dreams._

 

What fools those men were to think they could rebuild something as good as what they had in Minnesota. Or even half as secure, secluded, safe.  They were valuable, strong, and well organized, sure. But good enough to build a new city? The brains of the operation couldn't even read a god damned map.

 

_Laughable, these men._

 

They had only run into problems that involved other living humans a few times, and one of those times they wiped out a few military vehicles and took them for themselves, writing: FIGHTERS, SURVIVORS on both sides. This, however, was the last of their luck for the month. Everything had come to a sputtering halt, and people began to run about frantically.

 

“Come on, girl, grab a gun!” One man, who was about 60 years old, had yelled while tossing a gun to her. “There’s a lot of these guys, we need all the manpower we got!”

 

 _Desperation? Now? Shit._ Not risking a damn thing, she grabbed her backpack and tightened the straps around her shoulders and held the gun firmly, standing up in the bus. As the bus was emptied, she crawled along the floor, glancing in each seat and grabbed two knives, a machete, and an extra gun. _You snooze you lose, bitches._  She placed the knives in her pocket, slipped the machete between her belt and her jeans, and inserted the gun in her waistband, pulling her shirt over it. If this was going to be the end of her protection, she wanted to be at least partially ready for the world out there. There was honestly no conceivable way she would last more than a few hours on her own, especially with infected around. In front of the bus she was on, the truck that was holding precious supplies had exploded and rocked the bus, tossing her around. “Shit fuck.” She hissed, standing once the bus calmed and ran out the back door, jumping to the ground.

 

Screams of men falling, fighting, and frightened completely filled her senses; she glanced around in panic trying to find a place to escape to. One of the attackers appeared behind her and held a gun up. “On the ground!” She yelled, a black bandana covering the lower part of her face.

 

The girl's hands raised slowly, she bent her head to the ground and slowly fell to her knees. _What road do I take?_ “You can take whatever you want, I just want to get away from my group.” She forced her voice to waiver and squeezed her eyes shut. _Cry, girl. Come on! Good choice?_

 

The woman held the gun in one hand while grabbing the girl’s face, forcing her to look up. “Looking to join a new group?” She asked harshly, searching the girl's eyes intensely.

 

 _Nope, no tears. Wrong choice. Try again. Be tough._ “Any group is better than this pack of pussies.” She smirked, quickly recovering from her previous act of fear. _She smiled at me. Good choice?_

 

“Get up, kid. Follow me.” She ordered. “Boss’ll be happy with another female in the group.”

 

 _Maybe not the best choice. Not a lot of options. Keep going._ The girl rolled her eyes at the comment and ran behind the woman, ducking as they ran through the crowd. Vehicles on fire, bullets flying past them, people lying dead. “Got a camp somewhere?” She called to the woman, who nodded in silence as she guided. “Got a name?”

 

“Sherry.” The woman replied, slowing behind a vehicle and kneeling. “You?”

 

 _Lie._ “Kelly.” She smiled awkwardly. _Obvious, asshole._ As she stood to follow Sherry, she fell backwards, feeling burning pain in her shoulder as she hit the ground. “Fuck.” She groaned, looking down. “Fucking shot.” She let her head fall against the ground and coughed. “Jesus Christ.”

 

“Sorry, kid, can’t stick around.” Shelly shrugged, running off. The moment the woman ran off, one man ran by, stepping on the same shoulder in which she had gotten shot. For a moment he stood, not noticing the girl underneath his heavy foot.

 

 _“_ Get off me!” She yelped, digging in her pocket for a knife and stabbing him in the calf. He kicked her in her face, the roughness of his boot cutting into her face.

 

“Fucking bitch!” He shouted before pathetically limping off, getting shot just a yard away from her.

 

She rolled to her stomach and used one arm and her knees to lift herself, running off the road to the cover of the trees. Her legs didn’t stop underneath her, especially when she heard Clickers nearby. She had ran as far as she could before having to slow her pace. “Not a bad place to die, huh?” She chuckled, looking down at her blood soaked shirt.

 

After nearly an hour of stumbling, fear grasped her as the sun began to set, and her legs suddenly found the strength to run. The moment she came upon walls, after what seemed like years, through woods, her legs collapsed and her vision blackened. “Hello?” She called weakly, unable to see. The last thing she heard was the creaking of large metal doors and shouting.


	2. Good Things for Those Who Take- New Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I dunno what I am doing bear with me. 
> 
> TW: Implied past sexual abuse

Brown eyes opened heavily, unable to properly focus. Her head felt as if it was a thousand pounds and when she turned to look, she couldn’t find the energy to turn it back again. There was a faint murmuring, sound flowing to her ears but the source couldn’t be confirmed by her brain.

 

Two objects appeared, close enough for her to identify. One was a rough looking man sporting a dark beard and piercing hazel eyes. The other was a young girl, long red hair tied back and gentle, yet guarded, green eyes.

 

“Shit.” The wounded young woman groaned. “I’m in a waiting room?” She panted, her voice coming out weak and whining.

 

“Not really.” The girl replied, glancing up at the man. “We heard about you, just trying to assess the situation. You’re pretty hurt.”

 

“Listen,” the young woman started, weakly lifting her hand. The girl looked to the man with caution before the both of them stepping closer. “I know my life has been half and half, but I am s _o_ down with getting dragged into hell with him.” She pointed lazily to the man. “You gatekeepers have a rough job trying to sort people, but I made my choice.”

 

“What?" The girl almost laughed, taking another glance to the man; his face full of confusion and irritation.

 

“I know you’re recruiting people to heaven, darling,” The young woman’s hand dropped and as she strained to speak. “But Lucifer is far more beautiful than I expected. Bible don't prepare you for that, eh?”

 

The girl snorted and the man next to her pushed her away from the table. “Little girl, you think you’re dead?” She nodded in response, closing her eyes. “Well, you’re not.” He responded awkwardly. 

 

“King Of Lies, you are, Lucifer.” A pleasing chuckle rang from the young woman’s mouth. “Cinnie is ready to go.” She sighed, gesturing towards herself before she winced, losing consciousness once again.

 

~

A wave of panic hit Cin heavily and she jolted awake, her shoulder and head screaming in pain from her body contracting. She slowly sat up, looking around the room she was in. There was a man laying back in a chair holding an automatic weapon, asleep so heavily he was snoring. “Oh, no.” She whispered in fear. He must be one of those men that attacked her group. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered, she was in the woods. She slid off the padded table she’d been placed on and looked around. At the moment, only a gown had covered her body. That wouldn’t do for escaping.

 

“She’s still asleep.” She heard a formal male voice on the other side of the door. Quickly, she ducked and spotted her clothes neatly folded on a bottom rack of a table, her backpack set against the wall. “Let’s go talk to the nurse, and then we can check on the girl.” The voice said, now nervous.

 

Cin quickly dressed herself, pleasantly surprised the blood had been washed out. Mostly. She secured her bag on her shoulders and snuck to the door, slowly pulling it open. _Clear. Go._ She ran out of the room, which led so a short hallway with rooms on either side. She froze when she heard approaching voices and dipped in the closest open door. The light was on and there was a chair next to the entrance. It looked similar to the room she had been in. _Light’s already on, they’ll notice if it’s off. Act natural._ She sat down casually in the chair, holding her breath as three sets of footsteps passed them.

 

“She was shot in her shoulder once, it seems as if she has a concussion, and she has wounds on her face.” The same male voice from before rattled. Cin stood, trying to quietly leave as their backs were turned towards her. “She should be—oh no.” The door to her room was opened, and she glanced out the door.

 

 _They noticed, fucking go!,_ her brain screamed. But she couldn’t help but stare back as she stood and walked, only deciding to run when one man looked directly at her and narrowed his eyes. “There she is!”

 

“That’s my que!” She yelped rather playfully, shoving passed several people as she ran. After making it out the door, she tried to get out of sight as quickly as possible. _Daylight? How long was I asleep?_ She turned the immediate right corner of the building, and turned right again so she was behind it. “Fuck.” She huffed, looking for somewhere to go. _There’s no way they’d be stupid enough to think I ran back here, eh?_   She laughed to herself.

 

“They said she went back here!” A rough voice called, and the sound of a gun being loaded could be heard.

 

 _Fucking… god damn witnesses._ There was a door just a few feet away, and she took the chance. It led to a storage room, filled with medical supplies. She opened the door, pulling it towards herself, before entering and quietly shutting it.

 

“Ellie, you stay out here. I told you to stay back.” Another rough voice said. The beeping of a radio sounded and he spoke again. “Tommy, we’re in the back of the medical center.”

 

“Joel, I can help.” The girl insisted. “She might not even be dangerous. She was _running_ from someone.”

 

“Guilty until proven innocent, kid.” The man hissed. “Stay out here.” His voice grew closer to the door.

 

 _Oh shit, oh fuck. Listen to the girl, dude. She knows!_ She looked around frantically, ducking behind a table just as the door slowly opened. She peeked out, seeing a chair next to the door. _Good idea._ She nodded to herself, her brain slowly working out a strategy. She looked around, trying to spot something to throw. But, she had no time. The man was slowly coming up behind her, so she ran. “Sorry, man!” She shouted half-way to the door. She grabbed the chair and slammed the door closed, jamming the chair under the door knob.

 

“Hey!” The voice of the little girl, assumingly Ellie, called. “Stop!” She approached from the left of Cin, causing her to run right towards the direction she had come from. “We can help you, you don’t need to be afraid.” She panted, running after Cin.

 

“Ellie!” The man called, slamming on the windows. “Ellie, get me out of here!” His heart raced as his little girl ran after the unknown woman. It wasn’t safe, and he wasn’t right there to protect her.

 

Just as Cin turned her head to speak to the girl following her, she was tackled to the ground. She looked up in anger to see the man who had been sleeping, he stood and set a foot on her chest and pointed his weapon at her. “You trynna aid a fugitive, Ellie?” He asked accusingly, suddenly turning the gun to the little girl.

 

“Fuck you, man!” Ellie scoffed, taking a step back. “She’s not a fucking fugitive!” The man, who was still stuck in the room, had a surge of energy fueled by rage. One of his own pointing a gun at his little girl? He took a few steps back and ran at the door, trying to break out.

 

“Pointing a gun at an innocent kid?” Cin growled, grabbing his ankle. “Asshole move!” She forced her palm under his boot, where the ball of his foot would be, and shoved against him hard. He stumbled backwards, dropping his gun. She crawled over him, grabbing his gun, and stood above him. “Night.” She hissed, taking the butt of the gun and slamming it against his face.

 

“Joel!” Ellie called, looking back at him. He successfully broke out and now slowly approached Cin, holding the gun towards her.

 

“Put that gun down, little lady.” He warned. “You’re not gonna wan’ to shoot any of us, now. You got three guns on you.”

 

Cin didn’t bother looking around and scoffed, tossing the gun to the ground. “I’m offended you think I’d shoot a living person. This asshole got what was coming for what he just did.” She held her hands out lazily. “Listen, just kill me, alright? Please don’t.. don’t do anything to me. I don’t care if my group didn’t have what you wanted. _You’re_ the ones who blew up our supply car. Idiots.” She drew a deep shaky breath.

 

“The hell are you talkin’ about?” Joel partially lowered his weapon, focusing on her behavior. If she was lying, he would know.

 

“ _Secure her_.” A female voice commanded over the radio.

 

Cin’s instincts kicked in and she ran to her left, towards Ellie and Joel. Ellie stepped back and out of the way as Joel ran diagonally, intercepting her escape. “I need you to stop runnin’.” He growled, taking her down carefully. He kicked her feet out from under her and guided her to the ground, laying her on her back and straddling her. He grabbed both of her wrists in one hand and spoke into the radio with the other. “Maria, sounds like her group was attacked. She might be a friendly, we should—“  

 

Though, Cin didn’t hear his words, and her mind raced. Flashbacks from her previous group flooded her mind, and tears formed at her eyes. “Don’t touch me, don’t make me live through that anymore.” She tried to sound threatening, but her voice was nothing but pathetic. “I told you to kill me, don’t hurt me!” She shouted, her eyesight blurring from her tears. Joel hadn’t ever stepped away from someone so quickly before.

 

Ellie had run over and looked at Joel, horrified, and he returned her expression. He took his finger off the radio, and there was silence for a few moments. Everyone on shift had heard her, and suddenly there was an overwhelming sense of sorrow. Cin had backed away from him, holding her arms close to her body. She wasn’t aware of her surroundings, all her mind would register were the horrifying memories. “ _Stand-by.”_ The woman over the radio said sternly. The two men who had been sent to secure her had lowered their guns, looking to each other uncomfortably.

 

“Listen.” Joel knelt down, looking at Cin. “I didn’t mean to—we’re just trying to be cautious. You’re a stranger. We’re not those.. _bad guys_.. we aren’t tryin’ to hurt you.”

 

Cin glared at the man and scoffed. Though, before she could argue, Ellie had stepped forward. “If these guys were bad, I wouldn’t be here.” She reasoned, gesturing towards herself. “I’m just a young teenager. Do you think I would be alive if these guys were bad?”

 

A woman rounded the corner, lowering her gun when she saw Cin on the ground. “Let’s get her comfortable.” She said, waving her hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
